Professor Henrik Birnbaum (1925-2002), eminent scholar of Slavic languages and literatures, was a very close friend and staunch supporter of the IUC from its very beginning. He was a long-standing member of the IUC's Executive Committee and Honorary Member of the IUC.

Professor Birnbaum donated important library holdings to the IUC library. Sadly, the first portion of the highly valuable gift was lost when the building was shelled and burned in December of 1991.

Professor Birnbaum played an important role in the establishment of the CEU (Central European University), an institution he served in many capacities.

At the time of his death, he was Professor Emeritus of UCLA, where he had served since 1961.

To honour his memory, his wife Marianna D. Birnbaum, herself a devoted friend of the IUC as well as the CEU, and Professor Emerita of UCLA, decided to create a memorial fund at CEU, the Henrik Birnbaum Memorial Summer Scholarship Fund.

Each academic year, two students from Eastern and Central Europe will be awarded USD 700 to support their participation in one of the spring or summer courses organised by the IUC in Dubrovnik. One of the grantees will be a student of the Medieval Studies Department of CEU; the other is to be selected from among other CEU departments.